IICSYIRD l CH 44

5. Who Are You Thinking About?

Marc Hunt was sentenced to death.

Well, even if I hadn’t been a direct descendant of the Lefevre family and his superior, he wouldn’t have been able to avoid heavy punishment.

He did something insane—he threw a fellow soldier in front of a monster.

Of course, Marc Hunt probably never thought of me as a “fellow soldier” in the first place.

I had just returned from attending his trial, shaking my head.

He looked like a total wreck. Honestly, if he had just died that day, he could’ve gone down as a brave soldier who died in battle. A much cleaner ending…

Even if not that, maybe he should’ve trusted Schloitz just a little more.

I mean, I know for a fact that Schloitz saves lives hundreds of times in the original story.

Marc Hunt had been in the military long enough that he’d fought in many missions with Schloitz, but still didn’t trust him at all.

Was it arrogance? Or did he still think he was under Duke Madros’s protection?

Either way, the military was in chaos.

Every time I woke up, someone else had vanished or been dragged away.

What gave me chills was learning that even the knight who had managed the front desk of my dorm had been replaced.

Seriously—who would’ve thought he was connected to Duke Madros too?

It really hit me then how far the duke’s influence had spread. He had people everywhere.

So they’re really cutting all of Duke Madros’s people at once…

It was a lot to process, but at least I could guess one thing—Schloitz had been in a terrible mood that day.

****

“Sir Blandea. From now on, you’re being pulled from all missions classified as Level 3 or lower.”

At Raphael’s report, I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

At first, it sounded like I was being punished. But that wasn’t it.

“I told the Commander-in-Chief that I’d go to your place, and he gave me permission.”

Raphael seemed to have made a serious decision. Even his voice sounded unusually formal.

It would’ve been nice if he had just said something like, “You take it easy; I’ll handle the work.” That would’ve been perfect.

But I shook my head. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of my own duties.”

I was here in place of Enrico. At the very least, I needed to match what he accomplished in the original story. And this world… was already locked on the destruction route.

Raphael looked slightly deflated.

“I worked up so much courage to come say that…”

“I know. And you’re always overworking yourself. Now you want to overwork more? That’s insane.”

“Sir Blandea… Sorry, what?”

Raphael, who had been touched by my words just a second ago, now looked like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

I chuckled. “I appreciate it, really. But I’m fine.”

In the end, Raphael let out an awkward cough.

“Well… understood. And thank you, Lady Lefevre. For saving me that day.”

His ears turned a bit red.

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but… I really saw my life flash before my eyes. I knew I was going to die. But when I came to, I was still alive. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Yeah… you really were supposed to die that day.

Every part of your fate was screaming it.

But I couldn’t say that, so instead, I casually held up a mirror. Raphael immediately squeezed his eyes shut.

“Ugh, please put that away. I didn’t know my shoulder was that destroyed.”

“I thought your mental strength was amazing. Guess not.”

“I’m not the Commander-in-Chief. I can’t be that tough. It’s just… that bastard—sorry. Marc Hunt said some stuff, and I kinda snapped.”

Raphael was practically mummified in bandages. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but his head was also wrapped—he had a serious gash on the back of his scalp.

“Raphael.”

“Yes?”

“If I hadn’t been standing next to Marc Hunt that day, who do you think would’ve been thrown in front of the monster instead?”

“…It would’ve been me, wouldn’t it?”

“Exactly. And if you hadn’t had your Oparts, there was a very high chance you would’ve died.”

“……”

Raphael looked deep in thought.

Considering he mentioned seeing his life flash before his eyes, I was sure he knew how close he had come to dying.

He’ll probably say something like, ‘I’ll repay this debt someday.’

Not that I expected anything major in return.

Raphael may have been Schloitz’s direct subordinate, but he did get hit with some disciplinary action this time.

Shouting curses at Marc Hunt was the issue.

“I committed insubordination against the Second Commander… I can’t argue with the consequences.”

“Won’t that hurt your chances of promotion?”

“Probably… but it’s fine. At least I’m still the Commander-in-Chief’s aide.”

Well, if he’s okay with it.

He didn’t seem to regret yelling at Marc Hunt at all.

He’d probably been holding it in for a long time. It looked like he thought it was worth it.

“Anyway, Lady Blandea. You’ve been given a temporary assignment.”

“An assignment?”

My ears perked up.